Trump's DoJ fights to block AT&T-Time Warner merger

March 21, 2018

Transcript

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The DOJ is suing AT&amp;T to stop its merger with Time Warner.
AT&amp;T is one of the largest wireless and broadband companies in the country and it already controls internet access for millions of consumers.
Meanwhile, Time Warner is one of the major media brands in the US.
It owns popular content like, HBO's, Game of Thrones.
And so the fear here from the Justice Department is that this combined company will use its market power to unfairly jack up prices for competitors.
This will ultimately lead to higher prices for consumers.
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AT&amp;T and Time Warner Say, this has nothing to do with trying to run their competitors out of business.
This is about survival.
They see companies like Amazon and Netflix, as their competitors of the future.
So, in order for them to be able to compete in this new media landscape, they really need to combine efforts.
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What does Donald Trump have to do with this?
It's no secret that President Trump is no fan of CNN which is owned by Time Warner and when this deal was first announced Trump said from the campaign trail that he would block it.
He said that it would put too much control in the hands of one company.
But a lot of people are wondering if Trump who is usually very pro-business is really just getting the DOJ to block this deal to punish CNN.
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That's a really great question, and it's one that AT&amp;T and Time Warner's lawyers have been asking.
They say that Comcast is also a very large broadband company.
NBC Universal is also Who are really big media brand and the government seemed to be fine allowing those two companies to combine.
And so they say that it looks like the DOJ is selectively deciding when to enforce its anti-trust laws.
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However this case shakes out, it's a big deal for consumers.
The media landscape is changing so drastically and so dramatically.
People are no longer subscribing to paid TV services.
Instead you've got a lot of cord cutting and people streaming content from places like Netflix and Amazon.
So it's completely changed things.
And the wireless industry is in an all out price war which has been driving down prices and forcing companies like AT&amp;T to look for revenue in other places.
And all of this has been really great for consumers.
But where do things go from here?
Who's going to be the company that offers the shows that you wanna watch?
And that is in part going to be answered by the outcome of this case, so stay tuned.